February 2024 – HamGab

Secretary’s Beat
Meeting Minutes

de Patti Gulick KC9LYE

Hamfesters W9AA Amateur Radio Club meeting Jan. 4, 2024 7:38 pm

Please check Hamfesters.org for updates.

Roll: Nora KC9MLV, Jim W9JPR, Kurt WB9FMC, Don KC9EQQ, Steve W9KXT, Rick W9DOQ,, John KB9FQB,
Bob N9WDV, Patti KC9LYE, Gene W9PNG

Tonight there were: 25 members.

President’s Report: by Nora KC9MLV, Happy New Year! Bob N9WDV, is our Hamfester of the Year 2023-24.
Congratulations Bob!

Visitor Tim Robison a new Hamfesters member, and studying for his Tech license.
Welcome, Tim! Also, Welcome new member Brian Guerin KD9ZGT!

January Birthdays; Peggy K9QLM, Rich KA9HMV

Health & Welfare: Rick W9DOQ, continues to experience serious back pain. Rick & wife are here.

Nov. club minutes: approved by Steve W9KXT, & Bob N9KWG.

Treasurer’s Report: by Kurt W9FMC, In 2023 the club spent $3,000.00 on: Insurance, Christmas party, Field Day tent (the one that blew away), Southbridge Church, we have our monthly meetings here, and field day. And, treats at club meetings.

Programs: Tonight Questions & Answers topics Ham radio, testing for license, and club, Feb. program by Gregg AB9MZ
March Annual White Elephant Sale
April Weather Spotting Held here, program is presented via ZOOM.

Club’s Help Needed: If you have questions contact Nora, or Don.
Rick W9DOQ, is stepping down as club merchandise chairman, and as grill master
at field day.
Gene W9PNG, is stepping down as Hamgab editor, the site uses WordPress.
We need someone to bring snacks to the meetings.

Adjournment: by Don KC9EQQ, & Bob N9WDV at 8:28 pm
Dennis KC9DSP, won tonight’s Split the Pot.
After the meeting, our club’s audit was held. Kurt WB9FMC, Steve W9KXT, Connie AC9CK, taking part.

CQ Field Day

de Jim Riley W9JPR

As I write this, we’ve just cleaned up from one snowstorm with another coming in two days. Bad weather always gets me thinking about Field Day because the two go hand in hand. It’s not Field Day without intense heat, brutal cold, rain, flooding, wind, thunder, tornado warnings, or all of the above. It’s never, ever, none of the above.

The January meeting brought two pieces of bad news concerning Field Day.

Rick Reynolds W9DOQ, our excellent FD cook for Saturday supper and Sunday breakfast, must step down due to health issues. Rick was so dedicated, he slept in his food tent Saturday night and it took him all Sunday to clean and pack his gear. The meals were excellent. Thanks, Rick, for all you did. We look forward to a full recovery and hope to see you soon.

On the plus side, Brian Guerin KD9ZGT has offered to grill burgers, etc., for Saturday night. Thank you, Brian.
That leaves Sunday breakfast. I’m not asking you to sleep in a food tent or lug in a ton of gear. All you have to do is provide the usual breakfast fare (eggs, pancakes, sausages, etc.) for ten to twenty hungry, tired, and possibly wet overnight operators. If you’re interested, see me at the meeting or contact me via my roster info.

The other bad news came from Al Bukowski N9ZD who wishes to step down as captain of the trailer station. He’ll still be around and will help in any way he can. The trailer has an ICOM 706 or you’re free to bring in any equipment you might need. For example, if you’re a POTA activator, you can bring in your mobile setup. If you have any questions, let me know.

Field Day is June 22 and 23 at Southbridge Church, 15500 73rd Ave. in Orland Park.

Life at 30 Feet

de Kurtt WB9FMC

The Standing Wave

“Mommy, who are those people waving at?”

Ah! It’s been a minute since you’ve heard from me… Hasn’t it been nice?

I was thinking about the “Life at 30 Feet” byline, and thought, “Now that I’m a “cave-dweller” (living in a either a condo or apartment), shouldn’t I call it “Live at 6 Feet”? No, wait! Someone might get the impression that I’m an SK! No, no… I’m still here, but, living in a box (no, not that box – it’s the condo!), antennas are hard to hide and the only one I’ve had even moderate success with is a MFJ “magnetic” loop (the “mag” name is misleading – it’s really a hi Q loop – Just think of a one inch aluminum pipe formed like a hula hoop with a black plastic thing spanning the center. See one here and… Holy inflation Batman! $719.95? I should have invested in some of them when they were about $300.00!!!) At any rate, I’ll keep the byline (if Christian Cudnik, K0STH can host “One Hundred Watts And A Wire” while using a beam and half a “k” of power, I guess I can get away with it!).

Have you ever had that sinking feeling when you’re operating your equipment? Everyone you call seems to be deaf. Or maybe you have to be careful to keep your person from touching anything metal while on-the-air… Maybe you’ve noticed that your power indicator seems low. Hopefully, you haven’t had the “magic smoke” released from anything expensive! All of these symptoms (and more!) could be the result of high SWR. “SW-what?” you ask. “SWR,” I answer.

As you might surmise, I’ve been musing about SWR. I thought we could talk about it. Is it someone waving while standing or perhaps a group of people preforming the stadium “wave,” or the Third Wave, but sadly, no (though the stadium version could be a rough analogy of how radio waves propagate). We’re talking about Standing Wave Ratio or SWR. What is it you may ask? First, let’s talk a little bit about why matching is important. It’s important even in “simple” electronics. “Mismatching” can cost you some losses in transferring energy. Consider this illustration:

Here, you see a simple circuit. The stuff in the yellow box is internal to the battery, so you can’t change that resistor. Now, the idea is to get as much energy from the battery to the external resister as possible. At the extremes, if the external resistor is a short (zero ohms), all the energy will be dissipated by the internal one. If it’s infinite (an open – infinite ohms), no current will flow, and no power will be used. If you use ohm’s law and the formula for power^[i], you can graph the power in the external resistor as you vary its resistance.

In this graph, the vertical scale is power in milliwatts, and the horizontal scale is the external resistance. Now, this is just illustrating that matching resistance between the source and the load ensures that you have the most power transfer, but this is not a transmission line! We’re working with waves propagating down a line encountering an impedance mismatch (a combination of resistive and reactive components^[ii]). Similar, but not quite the same! What happens when a wave encounters this mismatch? MAGIC! Okay, not so much magic, but it does behave like something most of us are familiar with: String.

Most of us as kids played with string or rope or shoelaces or lead weights (What? YOU didn’t have lead weights to play with as a kid!? Too bad!). You might have wiped it or spun it around while one of the weights was on the end, and you might have found that you could make a kind of wave that went around, but there would be a few points that barely moved. That was a standing wave, because, while there was a lot of energy going down the string, it seemed that there was none at these still points. If you had attached the rope to a wall and did a similar thing, you could whip the rope and you’d see something interesting: The “pulse” you sent down the rope would bounce back, but it would be the opposite “polarity” (if you sent an “up” pulse, it would return “down,” and visa-versa). This is very similar to the energy traveling down the coax, but instead of physical motion, it is electrical magnetic potential. So, when the wave encounters a change, a portion of the “wave” (and its energy) bounces back (We call it “reflected” just to confuse people). But hey, wait! You want all the energy from your radio to go completely into the antenna and then out into the ether! Yeah, so do I! It’s something we want in our antenna systems! You can see this illustrated in an interactive web site found here. Go there and play with it. Here are a few things to try: Set the damping to “None,” with a “Fixed” end. Select “Pulse” and hit the green pulse button. You’ll see a pulse going back and forth, first above, then below the center. Switch the end between “fixed” and “Loose End.” Now, when it reaches the end, it’ll reflect on the same side (“up” reflects “up” and “down” “down”). Now, set the generator to “Oscillate.” You’ll see that there will appear parts of the string which don’t move and some that get to be two or three times the amplitude. That is the standing wave. The Standing Wave Ratio is the ratio of the resistances at the mismatch. In the resistance graph, when the external resistor is 4,000 ohms, the SWR would be 4,700/4,000 or 1.175:1 (read as “one point one seven five to one”). And you might notice that the calculated power difference (in milliwatts) is 1.3298 – 1.3212 = 0.0076, or 0.57% less than optimal. What about a more extreme example. What if the external resistor was ½ the value of the internal? 2,350 ohms? The total resistance would be 7,050 ohms (4,700+2.350). The total current, 5/7050 or 0.70922 mA, which makes the power dissipated in the external resistor (I squared X R) 1.182 mW. 1.3298-1.182 = 0.1478 mW or 11.1% less than optimal. This is a 2:1 equivalent SWR. As an “S” unit is 6db (about a 400% change in power), it would be difficult to even measure such on the air.

Basically, the amount of incident power (what reaches the mismatch) divided by the amount of power that doesn’t get reflected. If all the power gets to the antenna, we say that it’s 1 to 1 or 1:1.  So, what does that mean to us and our antennas?

First, notice that the standing wave can reach very high potentials. As most transmitters are designed for near the design power and supplied voltage potential, these waves can become destructive to the transmitter! Another point that people often miss is that the reflected wave coming back into the transmitter isn’t dissipated there, but re-reflected. Well, maybe. What happens if the reflected wave gets to the transmitter and finds a perfect match? Will it make its way into your finals? Will it then dissipate there? I’m not sure. To be sure, there has been a great deal of discussion about this over the years. Safe to say that high reflections (high SWR) are bad for your transmitter. That’s why they design modern transmitters to turn the power down (fold-back) to keep it from letting the “magic smoke” out!

The other thing that’s interesting is, when you put your SWR meter in the line, it will make little difference where you put it. This is because the meter measures incident and reflected waves independently of each other. But you say, “kurtt! I’ve seen differences in SWR depending on where the meter is!” And so you have! There are several reasons for this…

Our coax is not perfect (if you use open line, it’s near perfect!). When we send a signal down the line, it gets weaker and weaker as it travels. So, let’s say you have a really lossy line. I mean really lossy. If you put your meter at the transmitter, and the antenna is junk (a total mismatch), you might read an okay antenna! How is this possible? Well, say you have 3dB loss in your line (about ½ the power is lost). 10 watts from the transmitter is 5 watts to the antenna. If half of that is reflected because of the bad antenna (2.5 watts), only 1.25 watts will make it back to the transmitter (lost in the line again). And even if all of that is re-reflected, it won’t make much difference (0.675 watts, 0.3375 of which is again reflected): That is, the line will eat most of it up. Put the meter at the antenna, and you’ll see a bad mismatch. But what about people who say that your feed line needs to be some half or quarter wavelength long? And they can move their meter along the feed line and show it to you? What’s up with that?

Well, the short answer is that their coax has become part of the antenna. Some antenna systems seem to use this to their advantage, but not most. This is why it is recommended to have a balun near or at the antenna. It helps keep the antenna radiation from getting back into the feed line. How is that possible? Strange as it may seem, similar to how a reflected signal and an original signal can “occupy” the line simultaneously, the feed line can become part of the radiator. Then, yes, your feed line length can affect your antenna and the SWR! Is it supposed to be that way? Could be! But be careful! Even with relatively low power transmitters (100 watts), voltages can become… ah… “interesting”!

So, some conclusions…

SWR is the measure of how well matched you are to your antenna – well, for us Amateurs anyway! It doesn’t mean your antenna is working properly or even radiating. It just means that, as much as possible, your antenna is absorbing all the energy as it can. Is that being radiated? That is entirely another question! Only your antenna knows! You can take 50 ohm line and put a 50 ohm resistor on the end. You’ll ger a near perfect match, but only “leakage” radiation.

“High” SWRs do not mean you are not radiating or that your signal isn’t making it to your antenna or that your antenna isn’t working properly. Reflected power is re-reflected at the source. All that is lost is what is lost in the transmission line. Now, I am unsure about what part of the reflected power actually gets into the transmitter. Obviously high SWRs can do something dangerous to it, so, as already mentioned, even with some sort of limited matching, modern transmitters automatically “fold back” the power to protect it. In the case of high SWR and a lossy feed line, since the signal has to fight the line loss in both directions (three times the length of the line in the case of reflected power), power to the antenna can be significantly reduced. How much of a reduction makes a difference is situational. Also note: SWR affects the received signal too, but, depending on how much noise your fighting, will make little difference.

Once, a one time, long, long ago, it was commonly thought that a low SWR was absolutely necessary for a good signal. But this is only partly the case. If you can force matching and your transmission line is relatively efficient, the effect of SWR is minimal.

So, with this little piece of information about SWR, I hope you can avoid that tingly feeling you may be getting while transmitting! Keep safe!

kurtt WB9FMC

---

^[i]Where P = power, I = current, E = voltage and R = resistance, Ohm’s law states E = I x R and P = E x I. So, we can calculate the total I by dividing E by the total resistance: E/R^total=I^total. The power in the external resistor is I² x R^external. With substitution, we get P = (V / R^total)² x R^external.

^[ii]“Reactance” is a bit beyond the scope of this article. In short, it measures how “out-of-phase” the voltage and current are from each other and is expressed also as ohms.

Hamfest Ticket Sales
Coordinator Needed

de Jim Riley W9JPR

The time has come for me to step down, again, from being in charge of Hamfest ticket sales. I’m at that age where I’m realizing I can’t do everything anymore. Thankfully, I’m not to the point where I can’t do anything—yet. I will still handle gate sales, otherwise I’d have no reason to get up at 0400 to head to Peotone for the fest.

This job includes setting up and ordering tickets and flyers from the printer, distributing and keeping track of advance tickets, collecting funds from members who’ve sold tickets, and keeping the board and general membership updated on the progress of sales and distribution. You can do all this yourself or delegate some of the work to other members.

Call me at my roster number for more information.

New Quartermaster Needed

de Jim Riley W9JPR

Rick Reynolds, our current quartermaster, has had to step down for health reasons. We need a replacement but it’s not clear whether it will be a permanent or temporary position.

Your job will be to stock and sell club T-shirts, sweatshirts, and polos.

Interested? See me at the meeting or contact me via my roster info.

General Meeting Security Update

de Jim Riley W9JPR

At the request of Pastor Dean, the front door of our meeting place at SouthBridge Church will be kept secure before, during, and after our meetings. The door will be unlocked at 7 p.m. with someone posted there. It will be locked at 7:30. If you arrive after that time, you can call W9AA on 146.43 MHz or call Jim at 708-218-0695.

The new changes in Illinois law require this policy for the security of the facility and safety of all meeting attendees.

Upgrades

Congratulations to Brian Guerin KD9ZGT on his upgrade to General

Congratulations to Keli Calderone KD9YDT on her upgrade to General

Upcoming Hamfests

HamCation 2024 February 9-11, 2024
Central Florida Fairgrounds & Expo Park in Orlando.
www.hamcation.com

LaPorte County ARC February 24, 2024
LaPorte Civic Auditorium
1001 Ridge St., LaPorte, IN 46350
https://lpcarc.org/hamfest/

FOR SALE by Owner

ARRL Youth Licensing
Grant Program

de ARRL VEC VE Newsletter

The ARRL Youth Licensing Grant Program went into effect on April 19, 2022. ARRL will cover the one-time $35 application fee for new license candidates younger than 18-years old for tests administered under the ARRL VEC program. The $35 FCC application fee will be reimbursed after the ARRL VEC receives the completed reimbursement form and the new license has been issued by the FCC. The reimbursement check will be mailed to the fee payer. Also, candidates younger than 18-years old would pay a reduced exam session fee of $5 to the ARRL VEC VE team at the time of the exam. The $5 fee is for all candidates under the age of 18 regardless of the exam level taken. Proof of under 18 status is required at the session. Visit the ARRL website for the program instructions and reimbursement form at ARRL Youth Licensing Program.

The ARRL Board approved the “Youth Licensing Grant Program” at its July 2021 meeting in Hartford, Connecticut, expanding on the scope of the original motion proposed by ARRL Southeastern Division Director Mickey Baker, N4MB. The new program will cover the $35 FCC license application fee for candidates younger than 18-years old. The Board believes that “the recruitment and training of young amateur radio operators is a necessary and proper mission of the ARRL, and that subsidization of the $35 fee will reduce the number of new amateurs that otherwise would be lost from these groups,” the Board said. Initially the new program would serve up to 1,000 new license applicants under 18 years old. The program length is indefinite; it may be renewed or terminated by the Administration and Finance Committee or by the Board of Directors. The motion carried with applause from Board members.

Hamfesters VE Testings

de AL Bukowski N9ZD

Important Note: Amateur Radio Exams

1. Bring 2 pencils for the answer sheet, and a Black ink ball point pen for the FCC VEC 605 form we provide.  (FCC registration form)
2. Exam Candidates: Prior to your arrival. You are REQUIRED to register in the FCC CORES system online and receive a FCC Registration Number (FRN) before exam day.
   Once you have obtained the FRN number, please bring it with you to the exam location. To apply for the FRN, please go here.>>>  FCC Registration Login 
   Already Licensed? Please bring your Official Amateur License and Photo Copy of Your License. The FRN number is printed on your FCC License. (also found on the GMRS license if you have one) ALL Copies are filed with all testing materials. You will keep the originals. The FCC ULS CORES system must have a valid email address.  Otherwise you may not get your License.
   The FRN number is a requirement on the FCC 605 form we provide and your Exam answer sheet.
3. A fee of $15 dollars is charged for the examination. Payment is Cash ONLY — no credit cards or checks accepted.
4. Please bring a photo ID such as a Government Drivers License or US passport.
5. Exam location is at Oak Forest City Hall 15440 S. Central Ave. Oak Forest.  Enter through the Police Station Door and follow the ARRL EXAM Signs to the Exam Area.
6. Yes, You may bring your calculator, however you must demonstrate that all memories are erased.
7. Walk-ins no longer accepted, you must contact Al at N9ZD@arrl.net or aln9zd@gmail.com prior to testing date to register to test.

NOTE:     Starting  April 19, 2022 the FCC $35.00 Amateur Application Fee Starts. This new fee will only apply to applicants for a new 10 year License, renewal, rule waiver or a new vanity call sign.  (The $35.00 Application Fee is non-refundable) There will be no charge for future License Upgrades or administrative updates, such as a change of mailing address or email address.

The New $35.00 Fee will NOT be collected by the VE’s (Volunteer Examiners). ALL Exam paperwork including exam fees, answer sheets and Form 605s are mailed to the ARRL-VEC headquarters.  If you passed your exam the ARRL-VEC will submit your information to the FCC. Once the FCC runs batch processing, they will email you the process to pay the $35.00 fee. (usually credit card) You will have Ten calendar days to pay per instructions giving by the FCC. If payment is properly transferred, the FCC will then email instructions to download your License.  You will have 30 days to download the Amateur license. 

Again, The FCC must have your valid email address in the ULS CORES system.

ARRL Youth Licensing Grant Program starts on April 19, 2022

Anticipating the implementation of the fee in 2022, the ARRL Board of Directors, at its July 2021 meeting, approved the "ARRL Youth Licensing Grant Program <https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-board-establishes-program-to-cover-initial-fcc-license-fee-for-young-applicants>." Under the program, ARRL will cover a one-time $35 application fee for license candidates younger than 18 years old for tests administered under the auspices of the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC). Qualified candidates also would pay a reduced exam session fee of $5 to the ARRL VEC upon examination.

To give yourself practice on all the questions: Please click on the Website below that contains Exam Flash Cards Go to  >>>  Ham Exam fee exams   Click on the Flash Cards for the Class of Exam you wish to study. You can also take the practice Exams found on the same Web Site. It’s free and a good practice prior to any Exam Session.

73’s   Al – N9ZD   VE examiner

Skywarn Training

Hamfesters will be conducting Skywarn Basic Spotter Training
on April 5, 2024 at the monthly meeting. This is very good information to have even if you’re not going to join a Skywarn net. It may very well save your life or the life of a loved one someday.

After receiving your basic training you can get advanced training at
NWS State College online.

FCC Color Printable License

de Dennis Calderone KC9DSP

I’m not sure if anyone else misses having a color license sent from the FCC to hang in their shack, but I do. Anyone licensed before February 17, 2015 would receive a copy of their license via USPS. The watermarks were in color. I found a place to generate your own for free. Follow the link, put in your callsign, print and sign and hang it in a frame.

From experience, do not print from your phone unless you resize it. it will show two (2) pages (second one will be blank) so only print the first page. When resizing if it shows more than two (2) pages some will be cut off. Also, allow the printing of the background or the blue watermark will not show up.

https://www.ae7q.com/misc/Generate.php

Custom Club Name Badge

The Club has worked on getting name badges for those that are interested. The Board approved two different styles from two vendors. Links will be provided for you to order your very own Hamfesters name badge.

Ham Crazy has redone our logo, the badge is approximately 3.25″ wide but you can order any size you want. There are also several colors to choose from. The logo and words are engraved into the badge. They are available with a pin back or a magnetic back for an additional dollar. It is suggested that if you have a pacemaker you should not order the magnetic back.

Ron Delpiere-Smith KD9IPO ARRL Assistant Section Manager – Illinois is able to print name badges. The cards are Credit Card Size 3 ⅜” X 2 ⅛”. The cards are configurable with pin, hanging clip for a lanyard or magnet for mounting. Again, it is suggested that if you have a pacemaker you should not order the magnet. You can order by sending Ron an email at kd9ipo@gmail.com. Put Hamfesters Name Badge in the subject line.

Club Merchandise

The club has T-Shirts, Polos and Hoodies for sale. These can be purchased at our meetings.

February 2024 Contest Calendar

From WA7BNM Contest Calendar Website

Club Information

Meetings and VE Testing

Disclaimer

Notice: Beginning with Feb 2021, all HamGab issues will be gluten and salt-free. This is part of my commitment to provide you with the healthiest and environmentally friendly reading possible. You will notice no degradation in image quality due to the clever design of the editor. If you choose to print HamGab we suggest you use low-fat, vegetarian-based ink in your printer.